


Monologue on Sameen Shaw

by Keziah



Category: Person of Interest (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-14
Updated: 2015-06-14
Packaged: 2018-04-04 07:32:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4129767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Keziah/pseuds/Keziah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An introduction to one of my favorite characters on the show ‘Person of Interest’. I assume you know the premise for the show, but not much else.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Monologue on Sameen Shaw

**Background:** Shaw shows up in season 2, episode 16, 'Relevance'. She and her partner Michael Cole work for the ISA, the government organization that receives the relevant numbers from The Machine. In 'Relevance' both of their numbers come up, which is where Finch and Reese come in. Turns out the ISA is trying to kill both Shaw and Cole because Cole has been a little too curious about where the ISA gets its information. Cue Michael dying, Shaw almost dying, Reese trying to help and getting shot by Shaw, explosions, kneecapping, and a whole lot of mayhem. Shaw goes looking for information about why her boss tried to kill her, which brings her to Root. There are tasers and zip-ties and a hot iron and flirting, which basically sets the tone for their whole relationship. Eventually, everybody figures out what's going on and by season 3 Shaw is officially part of Team Machine. (As a fun side note, she and John are affectionately called "The Mayhem Twins".)

**Personality:** Sameen is incredibly intelligent, yet has an Axis II Personality disorder. She is a sociopath. As far as we know, she has never been officially diagnosed, but she frequently refers to herself that way. For example: "I'm a sociopath. I don't have feelings" and "I'm not wired for this kind of stuff" (in reference to feelings and sentimentality). Before joining the ISA she was a medical doctor of some sort. We know she completed medical school and was in a residency for emergency medicine when her supervisor sat her down and told her that she was technically brilliant, but a sociopath and probably not cut out to be a doctor. It's sometime after this that she decided she was "better at killing people than fixing them" and joined the ISA. We don't know much about her work with them, besides a few references and flashbacks, but she was your typical spy / special ops person with a lot of kills under her belt. She is very skilled with firearms, explosive, knives, and hand to hand combat, besides keeping her medical skills honed. She likes steak, Bear (the team's dog), shooting people, and good whiskey. And food. She likes food A LOT.

**Character Analysis:** Shaw is, while a sociopath, the most morally straight and morally consistent character on the show. She has always served people and protected people and tried to do the right thing by people. She is respectful if you deserve it and honest when it matters. Her policy is best summed up by this conversation with the villain of season 3.

_Villain: "See, I knew we had something in common - many things, I suspect. You're not the only one the government has betrayed. I want your help . . . if you join us, you will not only have your revenge, but you will help write a new chapter in American history"_

_Shaw: "You're right about all of it. I did work for the government, and I do want revenge. But if that work taught me anything, it's that how you do matters as much as what you do. And by that metric, you're all just terrorists. And I kill terrorists."_

She is capable of killing, but she only kills when the person is a threat. She is calm and collected and sure. She treats everybody equally. Compare this to Reese (who can't handle the guilt of killing, even if it is necessary, and deals with it by using Finch's rules) or Finch (who tried to ignore the problem until it personally affected him) or Root (who had no moral code until she began worshiping the machine). She is kind, and while she may hurt others intentionally, she is not cruel. She is a protector, and willing to sacrifice herself for those she cares about or a cause she believes in. (She does care for people. It's like the volume on her feelings is turned down, as one character puts it.)

In short, Sameen Shaw is amazing.


End file.
